Amor Omnia Vincit
by starry dynamo
Summary: Two people torn from eachother by the Final Battle reflect on the battle and its after effcts. AN: This is going to undergo some revamping very soon
1. Amor Omnia Vincit

Amor Omnia Vincit.

The normally sterile hospital wing was covered in blood. There was a palpable aura of death and sickness that enveloped the vicinity. Men, women and children shuddered, moaned and convulsed in pain. Is this how victory is supposed to taste? The "Final Battle" began at exactly 12:01 AM on the morning we were all to leave for Christmas vacation. We knew the attack was coming and were out there on the edge of the Forbidden Forest waiting for Lord Voldemort's army to arrive. The Order, Aurors, students, teachers, fearless patriots; we stared death in the face and braced ourselves for what lay ahead. The Gladiators of ancient Rome used to salute Caesar before engaging in battle with either man or beast. Ave Caesar! Morituri Te Salutamus! Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you! I was a gladiator and the Death Eaters were my lions. Freedom from that evil tyranny was my Caesar.

No one wanted me there though. I was in no shape to be fighting. Harry threatened to chain me to a wall in the deepest, darkest and dankest dungeon to prevent me from fighting. Ron was the one who ended up convincing Harry that I would fight right beside them, one way or another. Despite that, Harry didn't want me there. Despite his efforts to convince Harry, Ron didn't want me there. McGonagall, Pomfrey and the other teachers didn't want me there. _He_ especially didn't want me to fight. There was too much risk involved.

The last memory I have of the unprecedented and historic battle was the first curse. There was no traditional beginning where the opposing sides glared at each other, waiting for their commanders to give orders. A death eater emerging from the woods sent a random jet of green light towards our ranks. Lavender Brown was the first to fall.

I woke up hours later surrounded by the chaos of the hospital wing. The light had won! My first sights of triumph, however, were bitterly painful. Padma Patil was sitting on the floor cradling the body of her dead sister. Sickly sweet blood dripped to the floor from the severed leg of George Weasley. Fred was crouched on the stone beside him, pale and eerily quiet. Neville Longbottom was in shock, Kingsly Shacklebolt had been hit with an unknown curse and was in critical condition, Tonks was lacking an eye. Ron had a massive burn on the right side of his face, a broken arm and numerous cuts and scrapes. Harry was surprisingly uninjured. Apparently, Voldemort warned the Death Eaters to stay away from him; Harry was his. Through what could only be described as a miracle, Harry finally defeated Voldemort. He's not even sure now how he did it. His achievement however, almost appeared to be in vain as scores of battered soldiers filled the small clinic.

I had fainted. Before I was able to even fire one spell, one solitary curse, I lost consciousness. I didn't even get to play a minuscule part in the Last Battle. For all intents and purposes, I was the "Girl-Who-Fainted". I suppose it was a solace for everyone that I had escaped the grisly action of the savage and merciless battle. Relief. My body was wracked by the appeasing feeling, for a moment.

Bam! Reality came crashing down upon my head. Alone. I was alone. _He_ was nowhere to be seen. I sat up in a frenzy of panic. The rushing motion upset my stomach and it took on the notion to rebel. I made no move to seek out the toilet; a pool of vomit was no contestant against an ocean of blood.

I no longer bore witness to the horror of the hospital wing. _He_ dominated my mind. I only remember the screams of Ginny Weasley as I passed through the doorway. Harry proposed to her nigh four hours before the battle began. They both knew that either of them would most likely not make it out alive and the engagement gave them a sense of peace. Harry and Ginny both survived. Ginny however, suffered an almost fatal wound to the abdomen. I learned later that she would never be able to bare children. The thought increased my guilt tenfold.

Somehow, through all the madness and insanity, I succeeded in finding Headmistress McGonagall. Chunks of hair that had escaped her normally tight bun were encased in blood, dirt and other unidentified substances. She was a hurricane of motion. Upon glancing at me though, she automatically stopped and visibly sagged. I knew the news was going to be bad. _He_ was gone.

Hermione, she told me, He is dead. The Death Eaters had combusted and turned to ash when Voldemort fell. I went into hysterics. No! He wasn't truly one of them! He was a spy! She gave me a sorrowful glance before speaking again. Severus was a good man, but he bore the mark like the rest of them. I am so sorry dear.

She was sorry? She was sorry! My lover, my comforter my newly wedded husband was dead and she was sorry! We had only married three months before. A select few people knew of the arrangement. News of our marriage could jeopardize his role as a spy. I shrieked and cursed there in the hallway amongst the scores and scores of injured fighters. Then, my screams ceased and the pressures of the day forced me to the floor. The headmistress helped me up and took me to Madame Pomfrey who gave me one of her last dreamless sleep potions. It could have harmed the baby, but I was so far along that at that point it didn't matter. Her father was dead and my heart was shattered.

Two months passed quickly. The lawn in which the battle took place had been restored and on it was erected a memorial to those who had lost their lives, one hundred and seventy-three to be exact. All involved felt it inappropriate to convert the area into a cemetery. That lawn would remain for future generations play, dance, cry, study and fall in love on.

Ginny was still recovering from her injury. The week prior, she and Harry were informed that they would never be able to hold their own children in their arms. Ginny had sobbed every day and every night almost unceasingly since she was told. Padma was so destroyed by her sister's death, that she could no longer function properly. She had been sent home. I barely spoke those eight weeks. My child was growing larger each day. Madame Pomfrey assured me that my daughter would soon be born.

I was torn between happiness that I would finally be able to hold my daughter, and sorrow that my husband never would. My swollen belly ached for his caress. My ears longed for his rich and seductive velvet voice. The Romans had another saying. Amor Omnia Vincit: Love Conquers All. Most people misconstrue that phrase. They seem to think that love will always win out and everything will be sunshine and butterflies. When the Romans conquered something, they destroyed it. They crushed the city and the spirits of the people within it. When the Romans said Love Conquers All, they meant that eventually love would be a person's downfall. I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to let love conquer me. I still had a child to live for. I had never given up on the hope that Severus would return to me. There were still many people who were missing. Perhaps he was hiding out until he was absolutely sure it was safe. Deep inside of me was a glimmer of life that only he inspired.

The wind blew softly over the cool grass as the February sun began to set. I was sitting in the spot where Harry stood when he defeated The Dark Lord. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks and I watched the sun make his descent to the horizon, plunging the outside world into darkness. My eyes clenched shut as I fought the urge to sob. I refused to let myself repeat the ceremony over and over again. The fits of sobbing were getting me nowhere. Then, I felt movement from inside my womb. My daughter had become unusually active. She had been kicking me on a usual basis, seeing as she was so big, but she hadn't kicked me to that extent in several weeks, not since I last saw her father. It felt like she was playing Quidditch in there. Perhaps my emotions had triggered her reaction?

The sky was darkening increasingly by the second and I needed to go back inside to eat. After dinner I would retreat to my room and continue revising for my NEWTs. They were only a few months away. As I brushed myself off, I felt a presence behind me. I maneuvered myself around to find a pale, slender hand residing at my eye level. I knew that hand. The long, sensuous, yet calloused fingers that so many times provided me with great pleasure. I grasped the hand and was pulled from my spot on the ground. Strong arms locked around me and I gazed up into dark, obsidian eyes.

He was alive, and he was home. Amor Omnia Vincit may have meant destruction for the Romans, but for me it meant salvation.


	2. Amat Victoria Curam

I decided to add two more chapters instead of just leaving it as a one-shot. Thank you to Shdwcat27, aniamifan1988, and Color Me Gray for your wonderful reviews. This is my first story and your compliments were so encouraging. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Peace, Love and Insanity,

Black Moonlit Roses.

Amat victoria curam

I made her swear she wouldn't fight. She was seven months pregnant and I was terrified of losing my wife and unborn child. She never did listen to me though. I told her to stay away from me, that I would corrupt her and she defied me. I pleaded with her to leave me and let Potter help her raise the baby; I was no man to be caring for a child. She pulled my head down to hers, whispering softly that she would never, in a million years, let another man raise my child. So, I was not surprised when I saw her standing on the front lines of the Light Army. She looked magnificent with the cold, winter wind whipping her hair, giving her the appeal of a strengthening goddess. She had abandoned her robes for jeans and a plain tee-shirt; it would be easier for her to fight without the hindrance of the long garments. It was unnerving the way I could see her pregnant belly protruding from her small frame. Waves of fear coursed through my body as numerous thoughts hit me all at once. The awe I felt at her appearance quickly turned to blind horror at the thought of her dying. She was strong, but she would not be able to move as fast as the other fighters.

My reverie was interrupted by a shout to my left. Lucius Malfoy fired the killing curse at no particular person on the opposing side. I held my breath as I watched the beam of emerald light shoot to the side of my true loyalties. Lavender Brown was the first to fall. Parvati Patil shrieked in horror as her friend collapsed next to her on the cold, hard ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another person fall, though I had not heard a sound. Time stopped as I witnessed my love descend to the ground. I started to run to her side, but Draco grabbed my arm and shook his head in warning. He too was a spy, and knew my brash action could bring dire consequences to both Hermione and me.

A person unknown to me hurriedly picked up my wife and carried her swiftly to the hospital wing. I was caught unawares as curses and spells began to fly from both directions. I took that as a signal and sprinted to the other side of the battle. Many Death Eaters stopped firing and merely watched as I, followed by Draco, removed my cloak and mask and stood proudly on the side of righteousness. I knew they would come after me, and indeed they did.

The battle raged as I fought off scores of Death Eaters. It seemed that hell had truly broken loose and assembled on the lawns of Hogwarts. Wryly, I recalled one of many ancient Roman adages. Fiat Justitia (Et Ruat Caelum)****Let There Be Justice, Even If Heaven Should Fall. The phrase seemed to fit the situation perfectly. All around me people were being slaughtered, all for the name of goodness and freedom. Heaven was sinking quickly and we were being pulled down with it.

It quickly became apparent that I was to be outnumbered. Many of my ex-comrades felt the need to exact revenge upon me for betraying the Dark Lord. I knew I was lacking the resources to combat them all, so I did the one thing I despise most; I ran. The aurors had erected strong anti-apparation wards so that no Death Eaters could escape by that route. I cast a disillusionment charm upon myself and ran for the Forbidden Forest. In my hurry to escape, I paid no attention to the place I was apparating to. So, when I reached a remote tropical forest, I knew something had gone horribly wrong.

I dropped my damn wand when I landed. It snapped cleanly in half and I was stuck in some godforsaken rain forest without a wand and, coincidently, no way to get home. With my superb observational skills, I determined it was sometime around midday, telling me I was probably in South or Central America.

To shorten the painfully long tale, I trekked through the forest during the day and slept (rather uncomfortably) in trees at night. My main source of nutrition was fruit. I tend to dislike most fruit to a rather extreme degree. The only fruits I will eat are pomegranates and strawberries with whipped cream. Hermione introduced me to the kinkier aspects of food.

Hermione. I thought of her all the time. The dreams of our nights together seemed almost real. She was the motivating force that kept me from ultimate despair and quittance. My thoughts always drifted toward our soon to be born daughter, growing inside my love's womb. I was terrified that something had been amiss when Hermione became the second to fall in the Final Battle. I needed to get back to Hogwarts and return to the arms of my wife, lover and angelic redeemer.

I fought my way through the wilderness for what must have been close to two months before I reached a city. I never learned the name of the town, I was just interested in finding a wizarding establishment that could provide me with a floo to Hogsmede. Fortunately, there was one located in the heart of the city and the owners spoke enough English to understand my plea.

They imparted to me that Voldemort had indeed been defeated in the Final Battle. I had sensed it nigh an hour I had appeared in that damned forest when my Dark Mark began to burn. All that is left there now is a deeply scarred burn that slightly resembles the shape of a skull.

All floos to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were disconnected. The nearest available floo was twenty miles from the school, but I could easily make the journey in one and a half, possibly two days.

The floo trip was a long and nauseous one. I suspect I was in the system for a good ten minutes, which can seem like an eternity in a world of spinning fire places and ash. I finally found myself collapsed on the floor of a dingy wizarding pub in Scotland. The owner was rather shocked, to say the very least, to find his fearsome ex-potions teacher lying in a ragged, dirty heap on his tavern floor.

One of the locals was paying a visit to his son, a Slytherin, and offered to apparate me there with him. The owner of the establishment was kind enough to lend me a bathroom, soap and clean set of robes free of charge. Unfortunately though, the patron was a former Gryffindor dunderhead and I was stuck with a putrid shade of maroon robes. I was still grateful nonetheless.

It was sunset when I reached the hallowed village of Hogsmeade. I parted ways with the kind stranger and was instinctively drawn to the battle field I fled from two months prior. To my immense surprise, I spied a young woman sitting in the center of the once blood soaked lawn. As I grew closer, I began to recognize the woman. She was my Hermione. The blood-red sun escaped behind the dark clouds. Somehow, the environment seemed almost intrinsically connected to all of the emotions I had been under going the past couple of months.

She began to move and from my angle I could see her swollen stomach silhouetted against the last rays of the setting sun. She would be giving birth soon, and I would be there to welcome my daughter into this world, free from war and overshadowing evil.

I stealthily moved up behind her. She must have sensed my presence because she awkwardly pivoted around from her spot on the earth, wand in hand. I placed my hand to the level of her eyes and watched as they widened in recognition at the appendage. She grasped it and I pulled her from the ground to my arms. We locked eyes and I knew I was finally home.

Amat victoria curam. Fortune favors those who take pains. My life had been wracked with pain for decades and finally, a blessed fortune had been granted to me. I held within my arms my lover and salvation. My pains were over.

You know the drill, review please. I would really like some constructive criticism before I start on the next and final chapter.


	3. Nunc teneo quid amor est

Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers: dwntwndanbrwn, addicted-to-fiction, shdwcat2 and aniamifan1988.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to continue from here. I hadn't considered it, so it could take me awhile to get some more chapters written.

Someone asked what the Latin quotes mean, so I'll go ahead and give the translations to you even though they're in the story.  
Ave Caesar! Moritori Te Salutamus! Hail Caesar! We Who Are About To Die Salute You!  
Amor Omnia Vincit: Love Conquers All  
Fiat Justitia (Et Ruat Caelum): Let There Be Justice, Even if Heaven Should Fall.  
Amat Victoria Curam: Fortune Favors Those Who Take Pains.

In later chapters (if I continue) I might just use one quote instead of two. We'll see.

Now, on with the story...

(Hermione's Point of View)

The night he returned was quite momentous. After two months of pure solitude I was finally once again with my lover, my companion, my better half. Severus was dirty, tired and smelt rather bad. We didn't say one word to each other for the duration of our journey to the hospital wing. He was absolutely enthralled with my pregnant belly. It was exceptionally adorable to watch him sneaking glances at my stomach and absently caressing it with the hand he had placed around my waist.

Dinner was just ending as we walked past the Great Hall. If I wasn't so overwhelmed by Severus's return, I probably would have laughed at their faces. People had been placing bets on who the father of my child was. Most of them were either on Harry, Ron or Neville. I always found that amusing, considering the fact that Harry was dating Ginny at the time I conceived and Ron and Neville had recently confessed their homosexual feelings for each other. Then there was the Romeo and Juliette one that entailed Draco Malfoy being the father of my child. My favorite theory though was that I had gotten all four of them drunk out of desperation and wasn't even sure myself who the father was.

Madame Pomfrey gave Severus a full check up, much to his dismay. She deemed him healthy, albeit a little malnourished. I held his hand throughout the examination. The past two months had been earth-shattering for me and I was still trying to fully grasp the fact that he had returned to me.

The walk back to our rooms was as uneventful as the trip to the hospital wing. There were a few people lingering in the hallways who stared at us outright. It wasn't everyday that the Head Girl and former potions professor walked down the hallway together, arms wrapped around each other and barely contained joy emanating from their eyes and the corners of their mouths.

In my mind I had fantasized about his return. We would shut the door behind us and begin to passionately ravage each other's mouths with our tongues. Eventually our passion would build to a zenith and we would fall into bed and have the most amazing sex possible. My fantasy was quite the opposite. As soon as we entered we sat on the sofa in front of the unlit fireplace (which I remedied, seeing as he had no wand). He began firing question after question at me. Most of them dealt with the baby. After a thirty minute question and answer session, we were both exhausted from the stress of the day. It was nearly ten o'clock and I hadn't slept well the night before. Sleeping seemed to be a bit of a chore lately with a full term baby pushing on my bladder.

It was an amazing feeling to be sharing my bed once again with my amazing husband. Nunc teneo quid amor est. Now I know what love is. I know I already loved Severus with all of my heart, but I felt as if my love had been increased tenfold. I suppose absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

I snuggled up as close as I could get to him. He pulled my body flesh up against his, with his arm draped across my swollen belly. I was sure that it would be the best sleep I would have since he left. Oh how wrong I was.

(Severus's Point of View)

I suppose it was around three o'clock in the morning. I had been spooning against my formerly estranged wife, when I felt something wet pool around my legs. Hermione turned over onto her back and looked up into my eyes, with a look akin to terror. Her water had broken.

The next few hours were surreal to me. I had not been home for more than nine hours when my wife went into labor. I rushed her to the hospital wing as fast as I could. Of course, fast took about twenty-five minutes, taking into consideration the fact that she was dilating very quickly and having especially painful contractions.

Poppy was not at all surprised to see Hermione. She had been expecting her to give birth within the next few days. I had an extremely hard time watching her suffer through so much pain. Being her usually stubborn self, Hermione refused to take any pain relieving potions. She read somewhere that they have a slight affect on the baby. All I could do was hold her hand while she sweated, screamed and cried out in pain. I believe she may very well have broken my hand.

Hermione Jane Snape gave birth to our tiny daughter at 6:14 A.M on February 21, 1997. Only days before I disappeared, we decided on the name Chloe Anastasia Snape. She has quite an abundance of curly black hair and piercing blue eyes. I had a moment of sheer horror when I saw her eyes. The certainly weren't mine or Hermione's. Poppy, however, quickly reminded us that when all children are born, they have blue eyes.

After Chloe was fed and had fallen asleep, I sat next to Hermione's bed and held her hand once again. I was so lost in thought that I was not even aware of the silent tears rolling down my cheeks until Hermione brushed them away with a shaky and tired hand. She asked me why I was crying. I replied that everything was too good for me. I didn't deserve her or our child. I had committed so many evil deeds in the past, that nothing could atone for them.

Hermione chuckled and pushed my chin up so that she was looking me squarely in the eyes. Probae esti in segetem sunt deteriorem datae fruges, tamen ipsae suaptae enitent, she said. We were both rather fluent in Latin, so I immediately recognized the phrase. Let it never be said that Severus Snape does not know Classical muggle literature or history. Somehow, the quote seemed to fit so well with my current situation, though I was not wont to agree with her. A good seed, planted even in poor soil, will bear rich fruit by its own nature. She would tell that I was less than convinced. Severus, she told me, do you think I would have given myself to you if you had been an evil person? It was true. Hermione had come to me pure and innocent, but not naïve. She allowed me to take her virginity, kept my child and married me out of pure love, not simply to secure a father for the baby.

Damn her for always being right.

Nunc teneo quid amor est: Now I know what love is.

Probae esti in segetem sunt deteriorem datae fruges, tamen ipsae suaptae enitent: A good seed, planted even in poor soil, will bear rich fruit by its own nature.

So you know the drill. Please review. As a first time writer, I need all of the comments and criticism that I can get.


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